Confusion. Sadness. Regret. Anger.
Those were the emotions expressed by 10 seniors who were evicted from their homes in enriched housing at St. Mary's Villa last week.
On February 16, the Saskatoon Health Region (SHR) announced to the media that due to issues with the structural integrity of the floor in Dust Wing, one of the largest wings in St. Mary's Villa, 10 seniors living in enriched housing in the Villa would be moving out.
Those living in the enriched housing units were not receiving care from Villa staff, but were living independently; in some cases, serviced by home care. They had their own one- or two-room unit within the Villa, shared laundry and bath facilities, and ate at a common dining room.
Some had lived in the units for years.
After receiving backlash about that announcement, the SHR issued another news release on February 22, outlining the assistance being offered to enriched housing clients, and expressing regret at the situation.
The SHR stated that they were offering to pay the entire first month's rent at their new facility, wherever that may be, because they were not able to provide a month's notice.
They also committed to working with each individual to ensure they don't incur out-of-pocket expenses associated with the move. And they have agreed to provide financial support for the first 12 months of their relocation, covering the difference in rent for one year.
"We understand that this is a difficult time for everyone involved," Jackie Mann, a vice-president with the SHR stated in the press release. "We understand that relocating people from a home they've occupied, in some cases for years, will be difficult. I'm pleased that we already have alternatives in place for all 10 tenants.... My sincerest hope is that we will provide everyone, including the long-term care residents already residing at St. Mary's Villa, with a safe and comfortable living and care environment at the end of this process."
Floor issues
The floor joists of Dust Wing are splitting, rotten and stand on a dirt base. Walking around in that wing, it's clear there is something very wrong with the floor, as it rolls and dips, and even feels spongy in spots. If that's not enough, the large number of taped areas, where the flooring has split and cracked, also point to severe problems.
The floors were built to support 40 lbs. per square foot, and there is now 100 lbs. per square foot sitting on them, due to things like new bathtubs and lifts required for residents needing high levels of care. That puts a lot of pressure on the wooden trusses underneath.
This is why they have to move 32 residents out of that wing - to deal with the floor situation. Those 32 residents will be moved to empty rooms throughout the Villa, including the enriched housing rooms, which need renovations like installing a nurse call system, before the residents can move in. A sunroom and dining room in Dust Wing will also be closed to residents.
Though there is no imminent danger, an engineer's draft report, issued to the SHR in December, recommended the SHR make plans to move people or shore up the floor.
"We try to balance the interests of everybody. It's not imminent, but there are significant structural issues here so the weight on that floor is going to eventually cause some problems," said Bonnie Blakely, another vice-president with SHR at a news conference on February 22.
"We are committed to safety for employees and patients (and) we needed to act in an expedited fashion. Regardless of the solution, whether it's shoring up or rebuilding, it's going to require the 10 people move out," Blakely continued.
"We apologize sincerely for any difficulties we've created by having to ask these 10 families to have to relocate outside the facility. However, in the best interests of the safety of all the residents, particularly the 32 residents on the Dust Wing, we need to find ways to keep everybody safe," she added.
In an interview with the Journal on February 22, Blakely said that the 10 tenants of enriched housing were provided with a number of options, including Caleb Village in Humboldt, a new seniors assisted living facility that just opened last year, and others located in Humboldt and in the area.
"Humboldt as a community has really stepped up. There are a number of options for them within Humboldt and the surrounding area," she said.
When questioned about the reaction of tenants of enriched housing to the move, Blakely said that "Anytime people have something happen and they are asked to leave their home, people have different reactions."
Some families of those residing in Dust Wing had expressed concerns about the safety of their family members, Blakely said.
She admitted that for the seniors living in enriched housing, moving in little more than a week - required, the SHR claims, so renovations can be done to their suites to allow them to accommodate patients with a high level of care - is difficult.
The SHR, she noted, is apologetic and empathetic.
"It's not ideal for anyone," she said. "But we are committed to safety, and have to balance the needs of all we serve."
Enriched housing won't be back in the Villa, Blakely confirmed.
"It's a highly unusual situation to have tenants in a health care facility," she said. "I don't see ourselves having tenants back in a health care facility."
They need the beds, she added, for higher levels of care.
Moving out
There is no question from the tenants of enriched housing that they had to move out. They don't have a problem with giving up their rooms so that patients needing Level 3 and 4 care can move in to their units.
It's the way the move came to pass that's at issue, and the confusion that occurred because of how things were announced.
A number of residents confirmed that they were informed of the move while gathered for supper on February 15.
"Four ladies stood in a row and said, 'We've got bad news for you'," said Evelyn Zerff, 83, a tenant of the enriched housing unit.
Zerff spoke to the Journal on February 23, as she waited for movers to arrive.
"You have to move," she said they told her. But they didn't know where.
"You can imagine what all of us felt like... No one wanted to eat. And I went home and cried," Zerff said.
There was "no compassion" in the way they were told about the move, agreed Doreen Reinhart, whose father, Joe Knafelc, who is nearly 98, was the sole male living in the enriched housing unit.
Her father is deaf, she noted, and didn't actually hear what was said when the announcement was made.
"They're lucky people didn't have heart attacks," Reinhart said. "How tough would it have been to make 10 phone calls and get families in (to be with tenants during the announcement)?"
She was called Wednesday evening and told her father was being evicted, though that was not the term used, Reinhart said.
The dates of the move changed from day to day, more than one tenant noted. It went from March 31 to February 21, to February 24 to February 23, all in less than a week.
"That's not enough time to give us to think," Zerff said. "They should have given us 'til the 31st of March at least.... Eight days today and that's it - we're out of here."
"The whole Villa is in an uproar," said Julie Froess, Zerff's sister. "It's just affected everybody."
Zerff is legally blind and has lived at the Villa in enriched housing for two years. Because of her vision, she can't cook, and needs her meals provided for her, which limited her choices on where to move. She finally settled on Caleb Village, at least for the next year.
The SHR did help her look at her options for the future, she said, and Caleb was the best option, though it is expensive - about triple what she was paying at the Villa.
"That's fine and dandy for a year. But what happens after a year?" asked Froess.
The year will give Zerff time to decide on where she wants to go next, as the cost to live in Caleb is just too high for her to afford on her own. She has relatives in Saskatoon, and is considering moving there at the end of the year.
"But I can't make up my mind right now to go there," she said.
Zerff is thankful that four of them from enriched housing will be on the same floor at Caleb Village, as they became close at the Villa, taking all their meals together.
"We laughed and joked so much. We're just such a great family here, it's unreal," she said through tears.
This move has been stressful on her and her family, she noted, as her children live out of town or are away at the moment.
"Thank God for my sister and her kids," Zerff said, as they assisted her with her move.
Most of the tenants are upset at the lack of communication from the SHR regarding this move, Zerff believes.
"Everything was done so secretly," Zerff said. "How it's been handled - everyone is so upset."
Families are also concerned about how things were handled.
Reinhart's father moved into enriched housing at the Villa just over a year ago.
"I never thought in my wildest dreams I'd have to worry about where my dad is living at this age," Reinhart said.
Transferring people to another home at this stage of their life is "utterly cruel," she said.
The cost of living at Caleb Village is over double what her father paid at St. Mary's Villa, Reinhart said. That's a tough pill to swallow when you're on a fixed income.
They did look at other places, Reinhart said, but there really were no other options for her father, unless he moved out of the community.
Taking their parents home was not an option for many of the families, she added, and she worries about how this move will upset her father's health.
"It's very confusing for them all," Reinhart stated. "I don't think any of us realize what the implications for them can be.... It could be a lot of stress on them... it could be a downward spiral."
Irina Kullberg and her family were packing up her belongings at the Villa on February 22.
Her son, Herb Hallman of Fosston, said the notice they received for the move was not enough, especially when they were left with the impression that they had until the end of March to move after a meeting between SHR officials, families, Villa residents and enriched housing clients on February 16.
It wasn't easy to find a place for his mother to go, Hallman indicated.
Kullberg, 88, has lived in enriched housing for over five years, and is not dependent enough to stay in long-term care, yet she needs some assistance to live independently. Her son was happy to find a place for her in LeRoy, which is closer to him, and not as expensive as others in the area.
"I don't know why they can do it to these people," Hallman said of the eviction. Local housing authorities have to give tenants 30 days notice, and can't kick anyone out in the winter, he noted.
"These people got one week notice," he said. "People with no family, I don't know what they would do," Hallman said.
"There's nothing I can do," Kullberg said. "I have to get out.... I have to make the best of it."
Jerome Teiber's mother, Mary Schmid, had lived in enriched housing since December of 2007. And he's clearly angry about how the move was handled.
"It's elders abuse. They bullied the people here... It doesn't seem like they care," Teiber said emotionally.
"They are being bullied," Reinhart agreed.
Talk of a lawsuit has been thrown around by some families, as has demanding more compensation for the displaced seniors.
Reinhart believes the tenants evicted from enriched housing deserve compensation. And she's not alone.
"I think these people deserve compensation for the anguish they are going through," she said, indicating that she believes the SHR should pay the difference on their housing costs as long as they need assisted living, not just for one year.
"I want every last one of them to be treated fairly," she said.
Aftermath
Alice Ramsay, 86, one of the tenants of enriched housing, and a former manager of the Villa, was among those who moved to Caleb Village. She spoke to the Journal on February 24, in her new apartment.
The entire move was a nightmare, she noted. Her bed even went missing for a while and had to be brought to her room by family members.
She had lived in enriched housing for nearly three years.
"It was more difficult to be moved out of the Villa than out of my home," she said, "because I made that conscious decision... I had time... I moved on my own time. I did that, but this was done to me."
She would have no problem with moving out, she said, if it had been done differently.
"If it had been done in a timely manner, and treating us like normal adults," she said. "We should at least have had the normal amount of time they'd give any human being.... I think we really all felt abused and misused."
Without her family at this time, she would have been lost, she said - family and friends really stepped up and offered to help.
Whether she will stay at Caleb Village is still up in the air.
"It depends on what happens. It's hard to move and move and move. Who knows - maybe I'll need more care and go back to the Villa," she said.
Caleb Village, though, she said, is a lovely place to live.
"We've certainly gotten great treatment. It's very welcoming," she said.
"We'll all be fine eventually. Usually when people are abused in that way, treated that way, there are repercussions."
